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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · bear · wax · spring · cue · rash · kid · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cue — for pool
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — child
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. spring — of water
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rash — a series
  13. kid — to tease
  14. lean — thin
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cue — a signal
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cue — a hint
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com